An attorney for Alabama-based Caddell Construction Co. has not decided whether it will appeal a Nov. 17 Court of Federal Claims decision that rejected its protest of a $95.8-million U.S. State Dept. embassy contract award to a competitor, Framaco International Inc. Court Judge Mary Ellen Coster Williams ruled against Caddell, supporting State’s procurement decision. Another losing bidder, Pernix Group Inc., also sought to overturn the award, originally made in 2015. Caddell challenged Framaco’s qualifications to build the new embassy in Papua, New Guinea, and the role of Louis Berger Group on the project team, based on previous enforcement actions against the engineer related to prior overseas government work. Williams noted a contracting officer’s “recent experience with Framaco’s successful contract completion” of an embassy in Belgrade, Serbia, and said Louis Berger “was not subject to a suspension or debarment, and … had taken steps to avoid future incidents of fraudulent conduct.” Caddell attorney Dirk Haire said the judge “didn’t feel she had the ability to substitute judgement. We disagree.”